Key players won't play Friday night for Pittsburgh Steelers

LATROBE, Pa. -- Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has been resting some of his stars in camp and a number of them won't play in the first preseason game against the Lions Friday night at Heinz Field. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, receiver Antonio Brown, center Maurkice Pouncey and running backs Le'Veon Bell and DeAngelo Williams will not dress.

"I'm going to put together a schedule of participation for those guys," Tomlin said. "But that schedule probably won't be in this preseason game. We're going to play it by ear with those guys that I mentioned and deal with their overall readiness towards the regular season on a week-to-week basis."

--Rookie second-round pick Sean Davis has played safety and slot corner in his first NFL training camp. Often, he's playing them without any rest between reps, going from safety one snap to corner the next. That's allowed him to make an impression on Tomlin and his staff.

"More than anything, he's highly conditioned," Tomlin said. "He's one of the few rookies I've seen that really looks like he's come prepared from a conditioning standpoint. That's not a knock against the others. It's really a tip of the cap to him. I think that's the first place that allows him to grow and take extra reps. He's playing some at strong safety, he's playing some in the nickel-back position, and some in our sub-packages. I think more than anything, from an assessment standpoint, his high level of conditioning allows him to get extra work, which, of course, accelerates the learning curve."

--Second-year linebacker Anthony Chickillo is pushing for playing time at outside linebacker. He's in a crowded group with Jarvis Jones, James Harrison, Bud Dupree and Arthur Moats. Jones and Harrison are in the final years of their contract, so Chickillo is well-positioned for playing time if he doesn't see the field a lot this season.

Chickillo, a 4-3 defensive end at Miami, has made the transition to 3-4 outside linebacker. He has lost 20 pounds since the end of last season.

Tomlin attended Chickillo's pro day more than a year ago and envisioned the switch.

"He has fluidity in his movement and range in his movement that wasn't typical of a defensive lineman," Tomlin said. "He looked like an outside linebacker trapped in a defensive lineman's body. When you did your research on him you realized he was a high-school defensive end, and a very good one, one of the best in the nation. Those guys either go one of two ways: they go to outside linebacker, or become 4-3 ends, and he probably simply did what was asked in terms of the way they were structured down there. But in general, in his type of movement, I thought he had the type of range in his movement and the fluidity in his movement that looks characteristic in the position that he's playing for us."

--Tight end Ladarius Green remains on the PUP list after offseason ankle surgery and will not play in the first preseason game against the Lions Friday night. Green hasn't participated on the field in any way since the Steelers signed him as a free agent in March.

Jesse James, a second-year player from Penn State, has been taking advantage of the extra reps in Green's absence. He'll be the starting tight end against the Lions Friday night. "He needs these opportunities to grow and develop himself," Tomlin said. "I'm not looking anywhere beyond that element of the discussion when in talks about his reps. He's a young guy who's working to improve. He needs the reps, and he needs an opportunity to do that. I don't think we should put any other variables than that in the equation. I know I'm not."